


The Resurrectionist

by Ernmark (M_Moonshade)



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M, Pushing Daisies AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 20:49:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9624839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Moonshade/pseuds/Ernmark
Summary: Juno has a peculiar gift: when he touches something dead, it comes back to life-- but if it's going to stay alive, something else has to take its place.When Cecil Kanagawa dies, the Family intends to make use of Juno's peculiar talents. And they have a replacement already picked out: a thief named Peter Nureyev.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This, like so many other fics, started as a writing prompt.
> 
> pnureyev asked:  
> jupeter pushing daises type of power au (Juno is a detective who can bring the dead back to life with a touch but if he doesn't touch them again within a minute to kill them again, someone else dies in their place)

He’s dragged out of the car by a pair of shaved yetis and thrown onto the diamond-studded lawn of a house he’s only ever seen on the streams. 

He knew this place existed, but he didn’t think it was real– just an elaborately-painted set, all caricature and cheap imitation.

Boy, he was way off. This place is real, alright. But it’s a whole other kind of rabbit hole than the one he’s used to. The mansion is floating over the city, suspended by the same anti-grav thrusters that keep cars in the air. The grounds unfold from the main house, split with hedges and decorate walls in odd, sharp angles that might be great for getting a good camera angle but make him dizzy to look at. The house itself is too big to make any sense, perfectly balanced for ambient lighting and acoustics, but not for actually walking through like a regular human being. So when he’s dragged into the emergency wing, he’s half wondering how they got the body here in the first place.

Because it’s just that: a body. Shot up by lasers and shredded by shrapnel. The poor bastard is in so many pieces that he’s better off dead.

Which is why Juno’s heart sinks at the sight of him.

There are plenty of reasons somebody might drag him up here– his bookie might have sold his debts to a higher power, for example, and the Kanagawas might need a guest star for their next ritual execution program– but there’s only one reason they’d bring him to look at a corpse.

The room is empty, besides two women and their bodyguards. One of them is slight and small, pretty but in a way that would get lost amidst all the glitz and glamour of a place like this. Juno doesn’t think he’s ever seen her on the screen, but everything about the way she stands says that she belongs here. This place is her domain, and everyone knows it. But right now her face is gray, her brow furrowed in a way that wouldn’t be flattered by cameras if they ever caught her face. It’s the face of a strategist who just found out she had to rearrange all her pieces.

The other woman he’s seen before. She’s powerfully built, with imposing muscles stacked on an already intimidating frame. Most of her streams focus on the gym or the shooting range, though she inevitably makes guest appearances on other shows when she gets in one of her rages. Cassandra Kanagawa. 

But he’s never seen her like this before. He’s never seen her look _small_ before. But she’s shrunken into herself, her broad shoulders slumped, her knees hugged tight against her chest, her head bowed. 

“Ah. Mister Steel,” says the strategist, stepping forward. “What a pleasure to meet you. I’m glad to see you could come so quickly.”

“I didn’t get much of a choice,” Juno says warily.

She doesn’t seem to hear him. “You’re quite a difficult man to find, Mister Steel.”

“Funny, I have a website and everything.”

“Oh, of course, that little investigative business. It’s darling, really. But your more specialized talents were harder to track down.”

“That reminds me, how did you find out about me?” He’ll need to know whose nose to break later. Already he’s compiling a list of people who know his secret. Sasha knows, but she wouldn’t tell anyone. Mick– well, he was young when he let that one slip. Rita… he wouldn’t break Rita’s nose, but he’d definitely do… something.

 But before he can get an answer from the strategist, Cassandra Kanagawa unfolds herself from her fetal position. She’s shaking when she strides toward him, but it reminds him an awful lot of the rattling of a tank under fire.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” she says. “The guy who brings people back?” 

Juno tries to inch away, but he only gets so far before he crashes into one of the men who dragged him here in the first place. There aren’t a lot of places to run to.

“Listen, lady,” he says. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about what I do, but it doesn’t work like that. There are rules–”

“Screw the rules,” she snaps, and her voice sounds all too familiar. “My brother is dead, dammit! If you can bring him back, then bring him back!” 

He wants to say “I’ve seen your streams– did you even like your brother?” but he can’t. Because it doesn’t work like that. He didn’t like _his_ brother half the time, either, but that never once stopped him from loving him with everything he had. That didn’t stop it from hurting when their mother killed him. That didn’t stop Juno from trying to bring him back. And it didn’t make it any less devastating to lose him again.

Cassandra’s hands are wrapped around Juno’s biceps. She’s got the kind of grip that could break bones if she wanted to, but she holds him gently. There are tears welling in her eyes. 

“Please,” she whispers, and his heart breaks all over again. “Please bring him back.” 

He should say no. He knows he should. That’s the responsible thing to do. What she’s asking for is wrong, and he knows it. But looking at her, he can’t. He just can’t.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. But there are rules–” He’d like to get further than that, but right then the air is crushed out of his lungs by a violent hug. 

* * *

There’s an upside to working with the Kanagawas: they live and die by the contracts they sign. They’ll never double-cross what they’ve put down in writing, and all the tricks they intend to pull on you will be spelled out in black and white (even if it is two-point font and written in invisible ink).

Cassie handles his side of things, and she knows all the tricks, and she writes in protections into his side of the contract. A healthy compensation package, for one. A promise of protection by the Family from its enemies, in exchange for an exclusivity agreement (”that’s to make sure nobody else can force you into this kind of position,” she explains). They’ll keep his secrets, and reinforce that nobody else spreads the word, either. Cecil won’t be revived until he’s outfitted with cybernetic implants, so he won’t die on the operating table. And then there’s the matter of cost.

Somebody has to die. That’s just how it is. Juno can bring people back for a few seconds at a time, but if they’re going to stay any longer, he has to exchange their lives for someone else’s. A dog won’t cut it– he found that out the hard way. A rabbit might, but the poor things don’t deserve that, and besides, there’s no way of telling if they’ll work to revive a human anyway.

It’s got to be another human. 

Not a kid, he has Cassandra write into the contract. Not some innocent nobody off the street. Cassandra’s the one who suggests they pull from the people slated for a ritual execution. They were going to die anyway, she argues. And at least this way it’ll be quick and painless, instead of whatever her father’s got planned for them.

Juno doesn’t like it, but he’s already agreed to take part in this, and there’s no turning back now. It’s the best option he’s got.

And Cassandra agrees. Which is why she– well-meaning, he’s sure– takes him to a sub-basement one night. 

“We found him,” she says, excited, throwing open the door. “He’s a thief who tried to make off with one of Father’s favorite sculptures a few weeks ago. He’s slated for dismemberment for our Shark Week special, but I talked Father into letting us use him for Cecil.”

Juno wishes she hadn’t done that. 

The man is maybe Juno’s age, but tall and willowy. Imprisonment hasn’t been good for him– his shiny dark hair is disheveled, his glasses are broken, and his skin is starting to look sallow from lack of sun– but he stands with a grace so deliberate it’s nearly defiant. 

“A visitor,” he muses, but there’s a sharp edge in his tone. “I do wish you’d given me some warning. I would have made myself presentable.” He extends a hand, and Juno notes with dismay that one of the fingers on that hand has already been broken. “Rex Glass.” 

“Would you cut that out?” Cassie snaps, but Juno takes Rex’s hand, careful of the broken finger.

“Juno Steel.” He lets go, but Rex’s hand lingers on his for a moment. This might just be the first gentle touch he’s felt since he got caught. 

“Not a Kanagawa? What a surprise.” He flashes a cherubic smile, and Juno’s insides twist a little. “Tell me, Juno. What brings someone like you to a place like this? Not my new bunkmate, are you?” His eyes flick up and down Juno’s body just once, appraising what he sees there– and apparently liking it, if the curl of his lips is any indication.

“Your executioner, actually.” 

Rex sighs. “Oh, how _dull_.” It’s a good act, but it’s an act all the same, and Juno knows it. This is a man who has lost everything but his dignity, and now he’s brandishing it like a shield between himself and everything the Kanagawas throw at him. “Ah, well. It’s a pleasure to meet you all the same, I suppose. Though I imagine our parting won’t be nearly so pleasant.”

But any shield can break. Even the most dignified man can be broken to grovelling with enough pain. And being cut into chum while you’re still alive and kicking– that’s enough to make any man beg. 

“Probably not,” Juno agrees grimly. “But there’s been a change of plans. Your Shark Week debut’s been cancelled. You’re still going to die, but it looks like you won’t be snuffing it in front of a live audience after all.” 

“Oh. Well.” He tries to act dismissive, but it takes him a few moments to catch up with his act. The relief on his face is gut wrenching. A man shouldn’t have to be grateful to not be tortured to death. “I do appreciate the change in schedule. Might I ask what brings about the change in plans?” 

“Family matters,” Cassie growls, and Juno almost jumps. He forgot she was still here. 

“You’ll be needed for something else,” Juno says, because he he has to say something. “You’re still going to die, but it’ll be quick. And it’ll be private.” 

Rex’s smile is soft, and so sincere that Juno suddenly wants to grab him by the wrist and run. Out of this mansion. Out of this city. Out and away and _safe_ , because he doesn’t deserve to die like this. He doesn’t deserve to die here, now. By all rights he should be angry and railing against the world, but all he does is _smile_. “What more could a man ask for?” 

* * *

Even with all their fortune speeding up the process, it takes almost a week to get Cecil outfitted with all the necessary cybernetics. In that time, Juno is a mandatory guest of the Family– a safeguard in case something happens to him between now and the big event. He was only allowed a single trip off the grounds to gather his things and lock up his apartment. 

He spends as little time as possible with members of the Family besides Cassie, and not just because of all the cameras. Being here dredges up uncomfortable memories of his own family, and it reminds him why he spent so much of his childhood running away from home. 

On Cassie’s advice he keeps to the backstage tunnels reserved for the technical crew. He gets lost once, and finds himself in the sub-basement that holds Rex.

When he goes back, it’s intentionally, and with a finger splint he’s stolen from a first aid kit. The bone won’t have time to heal, of course, but at least that’ll keep it from getting painfully jostled every time Rex tries to use his hand. 

Juno sits with him longer than he should, just talking. Apologizing for what he has to do. Rex tells him about the places he’s been, the wonders he’s seen, the people he’s met. It all sounds so beautiful when he describes it. There are entire worlds out there, and he’s genuinely in love with all of them. You can see it in the way his eyes light up.  

How can his eyes be so bright all the way down here? 

* * *

The day comes. 

Cecil is thawed out and set on a hospital bed. The family is watching through cameras from well out of reach, their likenesses projected onto screens around the room. The doors are all locked, leaving Juno alone with Rex and the body and the growing hollow in the pit of his stomach.

“Ready when you are,” says a technician over the intercom– one of an army of doctors set to come in and attend to Cecil once he’s revived.

But Juno can’t do this. He can’t.

He’s seen Cecil’s streams and feeds. He knows the kind of thing that man has done. And it isn’t fair. _It isn’t fair._ You can’t just trade a man like that for someone like Rex. But the goddamn universe doesn’t care about fair, it just cares about balance, and it doesn’t understand that there’s nothing balanced about this.

“Juno?” Cassie says, her voice tinny and hesitant. “Is there a problem?”

Juno doesn’t look to her concerned face plastered across the far wall. His eyes are on Rex. 

He can’t do this.

“Somebody else,” he says, his voice raw. “Get me somebody else.” 

There’s a frustrated sigh from a cousin whose name he can’t remember right now, but their voice is covered by Min’s. “Of course, Juno, dear. I understand. It can be so easy to get attached. Niko, darling, what does the Shark Week schedule look like? We’re going to have to make a last-minute substitution.” 

For the first time since he’s met Rex, panic flashes across the thief’s eyes. 

“Juno,” he whispers, so low the cameras can’t overhear. “Juno, please.” 

Min is still making arrangements over the intercom. The substitute will be brought in, and Rex will take his place, where he’ll be sliced into pieces an inch at a time.

This is a locked room in the heart of the Kanagawa stronghold. There will be no daring rescue. 

There is no saving him from anything except the sharks.

So Juno crosses the room and he touches Cecil under his remaining organic eye.

Cecil wakes with a gasp. He’s shocked, bewildered, grabbing at an arm and legs and half a face that weren’t there before. His family and medical team fill the air with their words, welcoming him back and asking his condition until the intercom squeaks with feedback. All the cameras are pointed at the risen man. Nobody notices when Juno sets his watch and trudges away from the bed.

A hand grasps his sleeve and slides down to take his hand. When he looks up, Rex is there. Fifty-three seconds to live, and his eyes are still impossibly bright.

“You did what you had to, Juno,” he says softly. 

“I’m sorry–”

“Don’t be.” Another hand, warm and soft on his cheek. “There are secrets I swore to take to my grave. I don’t think I could have kept that promise with what they had planned for me. Now I can.”

“But you shouldn’t have to!”

“Thus is the way of things.” He smiles. He’s got such a beautiful smile. “It’s alright.”

It’s _not_ alright. There’s nothing right about this. Rex shouldn’t have to die like this. He shouldn’t be comforting the man who’s just murdered him. 

But he leans his forehead against Juno’s and squeezes his hand, and they breathe together in shared silence as the seconds tick by.

Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight.

“I’m glad I had the chance to meet you, Juno.”

Twenty-two. Twenty-one.

Even after weeks behind a prison door, his lips feel like torn silk. His hands are gentle and soft. It’s the kind of kiss that should last a lifetime, but not like this. Not like this.

Juno wishes he could give himself entirely to the kiss, but a part of his mind holds back, counting down the seconds. There’s only five left. 

Four.

Three.

He pulls back, out of Rex’s grasp.

Two.

Rex’s hand is still stretched out to him. His eyes are wide with fear, but still impossibly, painfully bright.

And then the light behind those eyes goes out.

* * *

If Juno never sets foot on these grounds again, it’ll be too soon.

He’ll get out of here the moment the support staff finish loading up his car. Mostly what he arrived with– and a body bag laid across his back seat.

Cassie arranged to let him take Rex’s body back with him, and she was kind enough not to ask questions. 

It’s only a matter of time before decomposition starts to set in, so Juno will have to move quickly, but he’s already got a destination in mind.

If he’s going to bring Rex back, he’ll need someone to pay the cost. Someone who deserves to die almost as much as Rex deserves to live. Someone nobody will miss.

He gets onto the freeway toward Oldtown and pulls out his phone. The number is programmed into it just so he’ll know never to answer it.

It picks up on the fifth ring.

“Who is this?” 

His knuckles go white around the steering wheel. “Hello, mother.”

“Juno? What the hell are you doing calling me? Do you need money or something?”

“Just came into some, actually.” He glances at the body bag in the back seat. “Really got me thinking about the importance of family.”


End file.
